brainpopfandomcom-20200223-history
Jackie Robinson/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. A baseball game is in progress and the crowd is cheering. There’s a runner at third base, and a robot is up at bat. The players are chewing gum and the sounds of chewing, gum popping, and the runners’ heartbeats can be heard. Tim is the catcher and Moby is the umpire. The player at third base runs home and the pitcher throws the ball to home plate. The runner slides in front of the batter. Moby issues the safe sign. TIM: Safe?! Are you even paying attention? She was out! That's got to be the worse call I've ever seen! MOBY: Beep. Moby produces a strip of film from his mouth showing the batter was safe. TIM: Oh, huh, um, I, I guess she was safe then. Sorry about that everybody. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, who was Jackie Robinson? From, José (Flushing, New York). Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the modern major leagues of baseball. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956. An image shows Jackie Robinson in a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball uniform, swinging his bat. He wears the number 42. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, at the end of the nineteenth century, the owners of all the different teams decided to keep people with dark skin out of the major leagues. African Americans were only allowed to play on all-black teams in what were called the Negro Leagues. An image shows an olf photograph of an all-black baseball team. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, there wasn't an official rule preventing African Americans from playing in the majors. TIM: There was just an unofficial color barrier. An image shows a white player and a black player separated by a dotted line. TIM: America was a segregated country back then. An image shows two bathroom doors marked “white” and “colored.” TIM: In many places, blacks weren't allowed to mix with whites, and racism was an accepted part of everyday life. An image shows an African American man sitting at a lunch counter and an angry white man points to a sign that says, “Whites only.” TIM: But after World War II, attitudes began to change. An image shows black and white people sitting together on a bus. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it was about time. A man named Branch Rickey agreed. Rickey ran the Brooklyn Dodgers and he'd been personally opposed to segregation for a long time. An image shows Branch Rickey. TIM: He also realized that there were tons of talented stars in the Negro Leagues - and these players could help the Dodgers win. An image shows an all-black baseball team. In October 1945, he signed a twenty-six year old infielder named Jackie Robinson. An image shows Robinson signing Rickey’s contract. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Robinson had gone to college at UCLA where he starred in four sports - baseball, basketball, football, and track. An image shows Jackie Robinson wearing four different uniforms, representing the four sports he played while at UCLA. TIM: There was no doubt that he was a great athlete, but that's not the only reason Rickey chose him. Robinson was a thoughtful and intelligent man. An image shows Robinson in his Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. TIM: When Jackie took the field, baseball would become one of the first areas of American life to integrate. Schools, restaurants, and even the armed forces were still segregated. An image shows a dotted line separating black and white symbols for schools, restaurants, and the military. TIM: Rickey knew that Jackie would face tremendous abuse from racist players and fans. An image shows a white man shouting angrily. TIM: But Rickey talked a lot with Jackie. He knew he had the strength to control his emotions and not respond to the insults. An image shows Jackie Robinson talking with Ricky Branch. TIM: After a year in the minor leagues, Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Dodgers on April 15th, 1947. An image shows Jackie Robinson in his baseball uniform, swinging a bat. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it was incredibly tough. Fans in other cities, and even players on opposing teams, would yell horrible, abusive things at him. An image shows three men in the stands shouting and waving their fists. TIM: Pitchers would throw at him, and runners would spike him with their cleats. He even got death threats. A split image shows a baseball in a pitcher’s hand and a raised foot wearing a shoe with cleats. An image of a letter appears, saying, “Robinson, We are going to kill you if you attempt to enter a ballgame at Crosley Field. The 3 Travellers.” TIM: But Jackie stayed calm, and let his game do the talking. That year he hit .297, and scored 125 runs. An animation shows Jackie Robinson hitting the ball and running around the bases while the crowd cheers. TIM: Over the next few seasons, the Dodgers became the best team in the National League and Jackie became a superstar. People of all races admired his courage and Dodgers fans loved his intensity, skill, and desire to win. The most exciting part of his game was his base running. His speed and aggressiveness on the base paths were legendary. An animation shows Jackie Robinson running the bases and sliding into home plate, scoring a homerun. MOBY: Beep. Moby has his arms out, indicating that Jackie Robinson is safe. TIM: You-- you don't have to make the call - that game took place more than fifty years ago! Jackie Robinson retired from baseball in 1956 at age thirty-seven. By then, most teams had integrated. An animation shows Jackie Robinson in a business suit, wearing his baseball cap and waving. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, well, well that means that minority ball players were allowed to play alongside white players. An image shows a baseball team made up of players of different ethnicities. TIM: At the time, the Civil Rights Movement was slowly ending segregation throughout America. An image shows a civil rights march with white people and African Americans walking arm-in-arm. Leading the march is Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. And a new generation of African American stars led by Willie Mays and Hank Aaron was in bloom. A split image shows African American baseball players Willie Mays and Hank Aaron in their baseball uniforms and holding bats. TIM: Jackie Robinson eventually became the first African American inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame. An image shows a plaque of Jack Roosevelt Robinson. It shows he played in the Brooklyn National League from 1947 to 1956, and includes his career accomplishments and baseball statistics. TIM: He passed away in 1972 at the age of fifty-three. An image shows Robinson's tombstone, engraved with the words "Jack Roosevelt Robinson: 1919 - 1972". A rose lies in front of the tombstone. TIM: In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of his debut, major league baseball honored him in a way that no other player has ever been honored. His number, 42, was permanently retired by every major league team. An image shows baseball shirts with different numbers on them. The one with the number 42 disappears. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, I-- I don't think being the first robot umpire makes you the new Jackie Robinson.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts